Men's and Women's Soccer pick up pairs of wins, MAAC Titles

Greyhound soccer players had everything neatly laid out in front of them heading into their last weekend of their regular season schedule. Each team would take the field twice and if they secured victories, they would each be crowned regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions for the 2nd consecutive season.

A true credit to Coaches Mark Mettrick and Katherine Remy Vettori, both squads got the job done… in emphatic fashion.

The men defeated St Peter’s 1-nil on Friday and dominated an outclassed Siena team Sunday afternoon 3-0. The ‘Hounds will close the regular season a perfect 9-0 in conference with a win next weekend over Rider. As it stands now they are 8-0 in the MAAC and 16-0-1 overall. A #1 seed has been secured in the upcoming four-team MAAC Tournament, and they may have potentially assured themselves a couple home games in the NCAA Tournament in a few weeks.

The women’s team proved that it’s not how you start the season, but instead it’s how you end it. They had a tough mountain to scale in upstate New York on their way to the summit. After Friday’s 2-0 win over Marist, it came down to a 1 game season with Siena. In the winner-takes-all final game of conference play, Loyola got 2 goals from senior Lea Day, and a hard fought 2-1 victory over the Saints. They started the season 0-5-2, but now ride an 11 game unbeaten streak where they’ve gone 9-0-2 and have ended the year with an impressive 9-5-4 record.

Upcoming for the Loyola men’s squad will be the previously mentioned Rider game in Lawrenceville, NJ this coming Saturday then a trip to Poughkeepsie, NY for the MAAC tournament to be held, November 14-16. Next up for the women is their chance to send themselves to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. They’ll play the Golden Griffins of Canisius in the semifinals of the MAAC tournament on Friday. Looming in the finals could be a rematch with the tourny’s host, Siena, on November 9th.

Loyola Sports Talk Hosts' NFL Pick'em

Chris Bonetti’s Selections:
TENNESSEE -5.5 v. Green Bay
NY JETS +5.5 @ Buffalo
NY GIANTS -8.5 v. Dallas

Ben Epstein’s Selections:
DENVER -3 v. Miami
PHILADELPHIA -6.5 @ Seattle
WASHINGTON -2 v. Pittsburgh

Chris Harrington’s Selections:
DENVER -3 v. Miami
PHILADELPHIA -6.5 @Seattle
INDIANAPOLIS -6 v. New England

Peter Crispino’s Selections:
BALTIMORE +1.5 @ Cleveland
PHILADELPHIA -6.5 @ Seattle
PITTSBURGH +2 @ Washington

Matt Mullen’s selections:
MINNESOTA -4.5 v. Houston
JACKSONVILLE -7.5 @ Cincinnati
CLEVELAND -1.5 v. Baltimore

Standings after the bye week:
T1. Crispnio (11-7)
T2. Harrington (9-9)
T2. Bonetti (9-9)
4. Epstein (8-10)
5. Mullen (7-11)

100 Years of Loyola Basketball

Loyola Athletics will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of Greyhound Basketball during the 2008-09 season. The season-long celebration will begin with festivities on opening weekend of November 14-16, 2008. Included as part of the weekend-long event are a pair of opportunities to watch the Greyhounds play in Reitz Arena. The season opener will be held Friday, November 14 when Loyola hosts Mount St. Mary's in what will be the 164th game in the most-played rivalry in the state of Maryland. Festivities will conclude on the afternoon of Sunday, November 16 as the Greyhounds entertain Tennessee State. Sandwiched between will be a gala event for all men's basketball alumni on Saturday, November 15.

Greyhound basketball fans have the opportunity to be a part of the celebration by voting for Loyola Basketball's All-Century team. The 20-man squad will be announced and honored during the 100th anniversary weekend. The All-Century Team will be announced at the Greyhounds game vs. Tennessee State.

Fans should vote for two players from "The Early Era" (1908 to 1936), 5 players from "The Reitz Era" (1937 to 1961), 6 players from "The Classic Era" (1962 to 1981) and 7 players from "The Modern Era" (1982 to 2008).

Voting will close on November 7 – To vote visit the link below…
http://loyolagreyhounds.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/all-century-team-voting.html

Courtesy http://loyolagreyhounds.cstv.com

Men's Soccer Stays Unbeaten

As Fall is now officially upon us, Diane Geppi-Aikens Field had chilly temperatures and good crowds this past weekend to see the Loyola Men’s Soccer Team notch two more victories. Friday’s 4-1 and Sunday’s 3-1 decisions over Marist and Siena now give the Greyhounds, currently ranked #8 nationally, a record of 12-0-1.

The ‘Hounds will almost certainly see climbs in its home attendance and national ranking as wins continue to amount and streaks continue to grow. Unbeaten in their last 21 matches, Loyola, now 4-0 in conference, has won their last 11 MAAC games dating back to last season.

Tremendous success brings recognition, and Tennant McVea, after scoring his first goal of season against Siena, has been named to College Soccer News’ National Team for his outstanding performances. The junior sweeper was named to the MAAC first team last year and was honored as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. More accolades will be bestowed upon the Greyhounds tomorrow as the NSCAA National Poll is released and the MAAC will hand out its Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week Awards.

Here’s the link to NCS’s National Team, featuring Tennant McVea…
http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page6133.htm

And last week, junior Milos Kocic was the subject of a feature profile article done by the Baltimore Sun, its link is below…
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/other/bal-sp.kocic17oct17,0,4798235.story

Loyola Sports Talk Hosts' NFL Pick'em

Chris Bonetti’s Selections:
TENNESSEE -9 @ Kansas City
SAN DIEGO PK @ Buffalo
NY JETS -3 @ Oakland

Peter Crispino’s Selections:
MINNESOTA +3 @ Chicago
CLEVELAND +7.5 @ Washington
SEATTLE +10.5 @ Tampa Bay

Ben Epstein’s Selections:
CINCINNATI +9.5 v. Pittsburgh
INDIANAPOLIS -1 @ Green Bay
DENVER +3 @ New Enlgand

Chris Harrington’s Selections:
INDIANAPOLIS -1 @ Green Bay
SEATTLE -10.5 @ Tampa Bay
DENVER +3 @ New England

Matt Mullen’s selections:
SAN DIEGO PK @ Buffalo
DALLAS -7 @ St. Louis
INDIANAPOLIS -1 @ Green Bay

Standings after Last Week:
T1. Crispnio (9-6)
T2. Harrington (8-7)
T2. Bonetti (8-7)
T4. Epstein (7-8)
T4. Mullen (7-8)

Loyola has its very own Top 10 Team

The Loyola College Men’s Soccer Team, fresh off their trip to western New York - which produced two more shutouts, moved up in this week’s NCSAA Poll to #8. Their lofty ranking places them ahead of such traditional national powerhouses as Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, UConn, and Indiana.

This past weekend the ‘Hounds picked up two more victories over a regionally ranked Niagara team, 1-0, and fellow MAAC foe Canisius, 5-0, to push their record to 10-0-1 on the season. Loyola is now only one of three schools without a blemish this year, along with #1 Wake Forest and #2 Northwestern. The two shutouts also gave them 8 blank sheets in their 11 games, and push their unbeaten streak to 19 over the last two seasons.

Baltimore will get their first chance to see their top10 team this coming weekend as the Greyhounds will take on Marist - Friday at 4:30, and Siena – Sunday at 1, both games will be played on the Evergreen Campus on Diane Geppi-Aikens Field.

'Hounds Lax wrap-up from Collelouri Classic

This past Saturday the Loyola Men’s Lacrosse Team’s preseason schedule concluded with its participation in Collelouri Classic. The ‘Hounds played three shortened scrimmages against Princeton, Hofstra, and St. Joseph’s… and Loyola Sports Talk’s very own Pete Crispino was on hand covering the action for Inside Lacrosse. The link to ‘Pino’s article is below, it’s a must read…

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2008/10/12/colleluori-classic-early-game-observations/